Georgia's Black Sea coast has a wet, green corner that few people think of when they think of the Caucasus. The Rioni river, the ancient Phasis of the Greeks, empties into the sea here, and around its mouth lies the Kolkheti lowland, a flat, humid country of alder swamp, peat bog, reedbeds and shallow lakes. Lake Paliastomi lies just south of Poti, and the Colchic rainforests and wetlands, listed by UNESCO in 2021, preserve a remnant of the forests that once covered the whole plain. This is the land of Colchis, where the Argonauts came for the Golden Fleece, according to the myth, and on a misty morning with the trees draped in lianas it is easy to believe in it.
Riding here is flat and straightforward, with fairly good main roads and slower, patched lanes through villages. The hazards are of a different kind. Cows, pigs and dogs wander onto the carriageway without warning, drivers overtake with optimism, and in rain the road surface can hold deep puddles. Summers are hot and sticky, with thunderstorms in the afternoon, while winters are mild and wet. Spring and early autumn are the best seasons, and the autumn migration brings huge numbers of birds, including raptors and storks passing along the coast on the way to Africa.
Poti, about eleven kilometres away, is a port town of nearly forty-seven thousand people, with fuel, markets and a good deal of Soviet-era grit. Its cathedral, finished in the 1900s, was modelled on Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and it served for some time as a theatre during the Soviet years. Khobi, farther inland, is smaller. Along the roadside, stalls sell hazelnuts, mandarins, tea and honey, and in the restaurants you will meet the cornbread, cheese and walnut sauces of western Georgian cooking. Try a plate of khachapuri, the cheese bread that varies in shape from region to region.
Bring insect repellent, and a poncho, and slow down. The wetlands are best seen from a boat on the canals or a short walk on a wooden path, and the quiet, steamy atmosphere is unlike anything else in the country.